Straw-spoon amusement device



7 June 1962 J. s. MAYER 3,038,256

STRAWSPOON AMUSEMENT DEVICE Filed NOV. 23, 1959 170515 24 5. M4 yEeINVENTOR.

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United States Patent Oliice 1 3,038,256 STRAW-SPOON AMUSEMENT DEVICEJoseph S. Mayer, 1281 26th St., San Bernardino, Cahh,

assignor of twelve percent to Irvin Quam, San Bernardino, twelve percentto Maurice E. Brayton, Del

Rosa, twelve percent to Richard C. Grove, San Bernardino, and twelvepercent to Lloyd B. Thompson,

San Bernardino, Calif.

Filed Nov. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 854,849 1 Claim. (Cl. 30141) The presentinvention relates to a device adapted to be used for mixing, eating,drinking or amusement purposes by adults or children in the home,hospital or commercial establishments.

There are many instances where it is desirable to have a single devicewhich can function both as a spoon and straw. Ice cream sodas or thickmilk shakes are examples of beverages in which a straw-spoon device maybe used. In addition, such a device may be used as a stirrer or mixer indrinks containing ice or other solids. Patients in hospitals wouldbenefit from a straw-spoon device as it reduces the number of utensilsrequired to be handled.

While it is intended that adults as well as children will use thecombination straw-spoon device, it is believed that children will derivegreater enjoyment from such a device as to them it will also be anamusement device.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device which mayfunction as a straw, spoon or as an amusement device.

Another object is to provide a straw-spoon device which adapted to bedisassembled for ease of cleaning,

A further object is to provide a straw-spoon device which is attractive,has a minimum number of parts, and is extremely economical tomanufacture.

Still another object is to provide a two-member strawspoon amusementdevice so that the straw member may be the same color as or a differentcolor than the spoon member.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be readily apparentfrom the following description when considered in connection with theappended drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a disassembled perspective view of an exemplary device of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the assembled device of FIG 1.

FIG. 3 is a transverse plane III-III of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section of the device taken along plane IVIV ofFIG. 1.

The device of the present invention is perferably made of two members, aspoon member and straw-handle member 20. Each member may be individuallymade by various well-known molding and extruding methods from suitablematerials of various colors, and the members may be shipped eitherdisassembled or assembled.

The spoon member may be curved, as shown, and have an inner concavesurface 11 and outer convex surface 12 which is continuous and smooth.The inner concave surface 11 is divided into substantially equalcavities 13 and 13' by an integral, central tubular straw extension 14protruding from the concave surface 11 and preferably being straight andextending from the lower end 10a to the upper end 10b of the spoonmember 10.

The tubular straw extension 14 is provided with an upper end 14aextending beyond the upper end 10b of the spoon member and having atransverse shoulder 16 provided thereon. The straw-handle member 20 isadapted to have one end thereof frictionally engage the upper end 14a ofthe extension 14 in a fluid leak-tight manner and rest on and be limitedin its downward movement by the section of the device taken alongshoulder 16. The upper end 14a of the extension 14 may be tapered forproviding a frictional, wedging connection for the straw-handle member20.

The straw-handle member 20 is tubular and when assembled with the spoonmember 10 provides a continuous and preferably straight fluid passagewayfrom the lower end 10a of the device to the upper end. The member 20 iscircular in section and substantially rigid to support the spoon-member10 and is adapted to transmit torque to the spoon member when the deviceis used as an amusement device. The inner diameter of the passageway inthe straw-handle member 20 should be approximately the same as the outerdiameter of the upper end 14a of the extension 14 to provide a tightfriction connection.

The passageways through the extension 14 and strawhandle member 20 arein alignment and provide a straight fluid channel rather than a curvedpassageway. This aids in preventing small solid particles from cloggingor blocking the channel as generally occurs in a curved passageway.

When the straw-spoon device of the present invention is inserted into afluid, it may be used as an amusement device, particularly by children.The tubular strawhandle member 20 may be held vertically and placedbetween the palms of the hands of a person and rotated by reciprocationof the hands of the person. The back and forth movement of the personshands causes the member 20 to rotate and transmit torque to the spoonmember 10 through the connection at the upper end 14a of the extension14. Due to the cavities 13 and 13' formed by the tubular extension 14and the inner concave surface 11, novel vortexes, bubbles and a swirlingaction is imparted to the fluid when the device is rotated. Childrenwill find this action amusing and it is contemplated that other amusinguses may be found for this device.

The spoon member and straw-handle member of the present invention may bemade of various materials that are inexpensive and easily molded andextruded. It has been found that thermoplastic resins, such aspolystyrene with a small percentage of synthetic rubber is suitable asit can be extruded or injection molded and has good tensile and flexuralstrength. The material used for either member may be transparent,translucent, or of any opaque color and should retain its strength atlow temperatures.

It can therefore be understood that the straw-spoon device of thepresent invention may be economically made, easily assembled anddisassembled, used for drinking, eating, stirring, mixing or as anamusement device.

With the present device, the fluid passageway extends to the tip orlower end of the device, enabling all of the fluid in a container to bewithdrawn.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described,

I claim:

A two-member straw-spoon device, comprising: a spoon member being curvedand having an inner concave surface and an outer, smooth, continuousconvex surface, the inner concave surface being divided intosubstantially equal cavities by an integral, straight tubular strawengaging extension protruding from the concave surface and extendingfrom the lower end to the upper end of the spoon member, the upper endof said tubular extension extending beyond the upper end of said spoonportion, and an elongated, straight, tubular, straw-handle member,frictionally engaging the upper end of said tubular straw receivingextension of said spoon membe and cooperating with said tubularextension to provide a continuous,

Patented June 12, 19 62 straight fluid passageway form one end of thedevice to References Cited in the file of this patent the other end, andsaid upper end of said extension being UNITED STATES PATENTS tapered forproviding a frictional, wedging connection for the straw-handle memberand provided with a trans- 214617 Brown 1879 verse shoulder for limitingthe downward movement of 5 1490785 Pumell 1924 the Straw/handle memben1,6O6,038 Norman 1926 1,666,106 Norman Apr. 17, 1928 2,334,535 BandellNov. 16, 1943 2,613,107 Hartnett Oct. 7, 1952 2.859.515 Kinman Nov. 11,1958

